November Transitions
Thirty-two years ago tonight, David had just arrived in Ohio and he’d come to my house to pack my belongings into his little yellow Datsun pickup truck. After David met my family members, we bought them pizza for dinner and then we headed to Cleveland to his sister’s house where we would spend the night before making the 600-mile trip to Burlington, Vermont. This was the night I was leaving for a second time.
Twenty-nine years ago tonight, our firstborn son, Paul, was not yet twenty-four hours old. We were staying at David’s parents home, so that his mother could help me adjust to motherhood. My own mother was 600 miles away.
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| David with Baby Paul at one week old |
Twenty-six years ago tonight, our little family was adjusting to a new person. Our younger son, Timothy was four months old at the time. I was realizing that going from no children to one was so much easier than going from one to two children.
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| Paul at three and Tim at four months |
There are many other transitions in my life that happened in November. It seems when autumn is turning into winter, my life changes, too. I’ve noticed especially big ones about every three years, as outlined above. Not all of them have been life-altering, and some have not been positive changes. Consequently, November often leaves me with an unsettled feeling. I have to wonder what is just around the corner.
Do any of you have a time of the year when you find yourself adjusting to a transition or major change in your life? Do you look forward to what changes these might be with a sense of adventure, or do you find yourself dreading whatever changes are ahead?
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August 14th and December are definitely not my favorites! My father’s bd, my 1st wedding, ex-fiance’s auto accident, misc auto problems with huge repair bills, house purchase fell through and a few others. My mother, my husband’s mother, my favorite aunt, my beloved ex-mother-in-law all died in December.
May-June seems to always hold many changes and transitions for me. Some of them sad, some of them happy. Honestly, I never really know whether to dread or look forward to this time of the year.
No, not a particular time of year. I moved around a lot when I was growing up so transitions were inevitable and happened any time of year. The change I really dreaded when we moved was starting school. I was shy and introverted, not good at making friends, and hated being the new kid. Especially at lunchtime when I had to find a place to sit. Since I was used to it, I think I kind of liked moving and seeing new places. I just hated the school part of it.
My father passed away at 1am on New Year’s Day. I never liked New Year’s Eve to begin with, but my father’s death really turned it into a non-holiday.
I don’t have one, though the fall in general always filled me with dread because it meant the end of carefree summer days and the start of school. Mainly I just wanted to say, gee those babies were cute!
I can handle most transitions with relative ease. However, October is the month that pops into my mind, first, having lost both of my parents in that month. Though I was incredibly sad to lose them (different years) I was relieved to know they were no longer suffering from their illnesses, Alzheimer’s for my mom and COPD for my dad. They both loved autumn, considering it their favorite time of year so remembering their “home going” when the air is crisp and the leaves are tumbling out of the trees is a comforting thing for me.
February can be a tough month for me but I’m thinking it’s not really a transition as it is a dread of another 6 weeks or more of winter! Now, I actually LOVE winter, but by the time February gets here, I’m tired of it; tired of all the clothes, mittens, feeling fat in my snowpants as I try to play with the grandchildren; snow up to my knees; freezing car in the AM; you get the picture! Sometimes I feel like slapping that grin right off of our snowman!
Since my husband and I have semi-retired, we take a few days at the end of February or beginning of March and head for warmer temps. Now, since I consider this a reward for good behavior, I don’t dread February quite as much! Most years!
This transition from winter to spring is one I can now handle!